


In a Perfect World

by silver_drip



Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Insanity, Project TAHITI
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-30
Updated: 2015-08-30
Packaged: 2018-04-18 04:05:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4691387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silver_drip/pseuds/silver_drip
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The truth behind Clint and his family.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In a Perfect World

It was painful, watching the one you love descend into madness.

Natasha unconsciously played with the arrow necklace Clint had bought her not long after they started dating.

And now… he wasn’t the man she fell in love with, but her feelings for him didn’t change.

Natasha held back her tears. She’d been through torture before, had her limbs twisted and broken, beaten senseless, and things that were so bad she’d blocked them out.

This pain was different though. It was unlike anything she’d experienced before. She felt like she couldn’t get enough air in her lungs. They ached constantly and the pain just radiated from there. If she believed in heaven and hell she’d think there was a demon clutching onto her back, weighing her down and making every movement arduous. Its clawed hand in her chest, tearing at her heart with every beat it took. Its foul breath ghosting over her neck and ear, hissing words that poisoned her with uncertainty and hopelessness.

It had only been two months since the Battle of New York…

Clint, the only person she had ever loved and fully trusted, was locked away in one of SHIELD’s many secure facilities.

She was watching him in a small room that had only one monitor. The TV screen was small and blurry, but she couldn’t look away.

Clint was alternating between laughing and crying.

_“I’m sorry!”_ He was crying again and Natasha took in a painful breath. _“I just don’t miss! That bastard made me think they were my target—Everything was blue except for their blood!”_ And then he started laughing. _“Got all those targets right between the eyes, Barney! Did you see it? Bam! Crisp trigger! Didn’t even feel the recoil!”_ Clint sudden looked down at the padded floor. _“When will Loki come back?”_ he whispered. _“I should have done better, made the Helicarrier crash-shh-shh-shh.”_ Clint bit at the shoulder of his straightjacket before spitting it out. _“I failed. I failed. I failed.”_ Clint began weeping and Natasha had to look away.

The door to her right began opening and Natasha quickly schooled her features. Director Fury walked in, just as expressionless as she was.

“He’s only getting worse,” Natasha stated, turning off the monitor as she stood up.

“Agent Barton—Clint, isn’t going to get better.” Natasha’s eyes turned sharp with anger and fear. “Not naturally, at least.”

“What are you getting at?”

“You knew him best—”

“ _Know_ him, not knew him. He’s still alive. He’s still in there.” Her voice became brittle, as fragile as she truly was at that moment.

“What is it that he wanted to do after he retired from SHIELD?” Fury asked, ignoring her previous comment. She took in a deep breath, steadying herself.

“He never wanted to quit. He said he’d train the new agents if he ever got too injured for fieldwork.” And now he couldn’t even do that.

“What else?”

Natasha pursed her lips in thought. They’d never really talked about the future, but she knew what he wanted, even though she could never give it to him.

“He wanted a family. He’d want to keep them safe and as far away from danger as possible.”

Fury didn’t respond at first. Natasha could feel him analyzing her.

“There’s a program you should know about, Natasha. It’s called Project TAHITI…”

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by [this blog post](http://mrgaretcarter.tumblr.com/post/127200435915/some-of-nats-faces-during-clints-family-reveal).


End file.
